THE BOSS FOR ALL SEASONS

“My friend DDD called me yesterday. He told me that he was going through applications for employment sent to his firm and he came across one from one of my lawyers, one Zontong…”

My heart sank as my Boss said those words. I froze. So many questions raced through my mind that second ‘Why didn’t I tell my Boss before I applied for that job?’ ‘What was his response to Mr DDD?’ ‘What if he doesn’t really want me to leave?’ 

Ahhhhh he will sack me! It’s me that did myself o! 

“...I told him I knew about your application and he should give you the job… and that you have my blessings… I even told him I will come to Abuja to see him next week…” – these were the major things I picked from what Boss said afterwards.

Eh? I was numb and didn’t know what to say. Should I apologise for not telling him about this application? Should I just say thank you and leave? That was my dilemma that Wednesday afternoon in September. I was on leave (yes, lawyers too go on leave) and I came around the office to say hi to my colleagues.

I first met my Boss, a brilliant, excellent yet extremely humble lawyer in 2014 when I got an internship position in his firm, perhaps the busiest and best litigation firm in Jos. Very quiet and unassuming, he immediately became a model and all I wanted from that moment was to be like him. Fast forward to sometime in 2016, I was back to the firm after my Bar Part II at the Nigerian Law School and there he confirmed and encouraged what was then, just a desire – he showed me that I can be more than what Jos could offer. He showed me that to beat the competition ahead, I need to think bigger, aim higher, be better. 

My starting point was supposed to be my NYSC service year. I was posted to Gombe State and for a young ambitious lawyer, you could imagine the disappointment. Well, I didn’t seek redeployment. My Boss to the rescue, he ensured I didn’t waste away on the benches of the Ministry of Justice like most Corpers and got me a place in a good firm in Gombe. I concluded my service in December 2017, and before then, like every career driven person, I had packaged my job application and sent to a number of law firms, mostly in Lagos and Abuja. As usual, very few did anything more than the computer generated response to my application.

So there I was, back to the office in Jos in January 2018 to seek employment. Well, it was not as if I had any option. I couldn’t just pack my bags up and leave for Lagos or Abuja as was suggested by some friends. Those were extremely difficult times for me. The doubt, the fear, the cluelessness and confusion. I still get a shiver every time I think of me this time last year.  

Well, like a father receiving a son whose dreams were short-lived, he took me in but not without first reminding me of my conviction before I left. I never forgot, but until then, I knew my new conviction must be to keep working and remain faithful where God is nursing me right now while I wait for him to take me to where he’s planning to plant me. My Boss runs a mid-sized law firm and gets to work with everyone directly. Somehow, God granted me favour and I got access to every job, every task, and every brief. A junior couldn’t ask for more. And I loved and committed myself to every bit of it.

This led us to that conversation in September 2018. One of my application is finally yielding fruit at a time when my Boss has become my mentor and father. True to that father status, he followed up on my application until I was called and sat for the firm’s test and interview. I got to know at my last interview session with Mr DDD that although I passed the interview, I was not among the 10 highly qualified lawyers interviewed for the position. But I had what the rest did not - a glowing personal recommendation from my Boss on my person, my work ethic and prospects. I GOT THE JOB and I have since had an exciting 7 weeks with the firm before the December holidays.

As I meditate on my wins and losses for 2018, I cannot help but to thank God for the gift of bosses that have turned mentors, fathers and now destiny helpers. Beyond giving thanks, this has taught me perhaps the two biggest lessons I wish to take into 2019 going forward.

First, at the risk of being repetitive, I must keep working and remain faithful where God is nursing me right now while I wait for him to take me to where he’s planning to plant me. God used my experience and commitment during this waiting period to be the basis for the glowing recommendation I received. Imagine I was lazy and care-free about my work while bombarding God with prayers and firms with applications. That alone would have shut this door of opportunity when it opened. So no matter how small a thing I shall lay my hands to do, no matter how transient a responsibility is, I shall do it with the right attitude, giving it my all, knowing that God’s plans for me and maybe the whole world, is dependent on each step I take on that task.  

Secondly, we all look forward to that destiny helper that will swoop into our lives riding perhaps a G-Wagon or wearing some angelic drape, to bring that transformation we need in our lives and career. But the truth is, that destiny helper may just be someone we have been living with all our lives or since we started that job or internship or business. It may be our colleague or even employee or junior in the office. Just one word, one recommendation, one statement and our career or that goal is either made or marred. On the other hand, we may be that destiny helper to someone whose dream is dependent on that recommendation or goodwill from us. Will I, like my Boss be willing to give that recommendation, that help, that extra touch even if it doesn’t appear to serve my interest? 

I look forward to 2019 knowing the opportunity it’ll present to shape my future and that of many others day by day. 

For now, happy cheers to Mr SSO, the Boss for All Seasons and to the few out there like him, for the opportunity to be better, do greater and earn bigger. 

KIGAI MANDEY ZONTONG

Kigai is an Abuja based Legal Practitioner and Arbitrator. He can be reached through:

kigaizontong@gmail.com,       www.facebook.com/kigaiz, https://ng.linkedin.com/in/kigai-zontong-aciarb-uk-803626114